172 ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. 



are entirely confined to South America, might be met with the fallacious remark, 

 that the nearly allied Scythrops existed in Australia, and Pkcenicopkeew in 

 Africa ; neither of which, Mr. Blyth asserted, manifested any especial relation- 

 ship to the group in question, except in extremely superficial characters. It 

 was amusing to listen to the complaints of some who held that Anatomy 

 was invading the province of Zoology proper ; as if it were not more likely to 

 lead to just conclusions to comprehend the whole than a part; but the knowledge 

 of the entire structure of animals sometimes sapped the foundations of systems 

 based solely upon adaptive characters, and hence the obnoxiousness of investiga- 

 tions carried below the surface. He trusted that the Ornithological Society 

 would exert their energies to procure actual birds for their museum, in addition 

 to the mere husks on which so many applied their exclusive attention ; not that 

 he wished to undervalue distinctions derived from the mere exterior, when no 

 opportunity occurred of penetrating deeper ; but he could only regard the position 

 assigned to any isolated group as provisional, until information had been obtained 

 relative to the principal details of structure. 



Mr. Blyth then adverted to the attempts which have been recently made to 

 divide the world into what have been designated " zoological provinces," or regions 

 severally characterised by peculiarities in the aggregate amount of their respective 

 faunas; and proceeded to comment more especially on that of Dr. Richardson, 

 who, while justly regarding South America, which possesses so many peculiar 

 forms, as constituting an extremely distinct zoological province, considers Europe 

 and North America as composing one only, the animals of these regions being 

 mostly framed on the same generic types. He stated, as a highly curious fact, 

 which he was unaware had been remarked previously, that those North American 

 birds which possess no European generic representative (as the numerous group 

 of Tyrant-flycatchers, the Sylvicolce, &c), and also those European races which 

 belong to genera that contain no species proper to America (as the group of 

 small Dentirostral birds proper to this region, together with the Oriole, Roller, 

 Bee-eater, Hoopoe, and others), were almost without exception migratory, apper- 

 taining to types especially and prominently characteristic of those countries to 

 which they retire in winter : which circumstance was adduced as possibly indi- 

 cating that the aboriginal habitat of migrant races was their winter abode, 

 rather than their breeding station ; whence, contrary to what might have been 

 expected, they should perhaps be regarded as more strictly belonging to the 

 fauna of the former, being accounted as seasonal visitors only where they rear 

 their broods. It was further remarked, that several migratory races visit coun- 

 tries both northward and southward of the equator, though restricted to a narrow 

 meridional range ; whereas stationary species are commonly confined within 

 certain parallels of latitude, their distribution ex/ ending eastward and westward, 



